This week, flight attendants for Canada’s largest airline, Air Canada, have voted overwhelmingly in favor of a strike. If they walk off the job, it could be as early as mid-August. The Canadian Union of Public Employees represents more than 10,000 flight attendants at Air Canada. The union said members voted 99.7% in favor of a strike. Union representatives said the vote tells the airline that it’s time to get serious about talks. Wesley Lesosky is the president of CUPE’s Airline Division.
“It’s basically the wage structure, the unpaid wage portion and just work rules that need to change,” Lesosky said. “I think the unpaid work portion is huge, as well as our wages. Right now, we have flight attendants starting off at Air Canada at $1,900 a month. And those are in some of the largest cities, Montreal, Vancouver and Toronto, which are very costly cities.”
Lesosky said the strike mandate also reflects the frustration that flight attendants are feeling after months of talks with Air Canada, with no results, especially on the issue of below national median wages. Other union representatives said morale is at an all-time low.
Travel experts are warning people to have a backup plan if there is a strike, and to make sure that flights, rental cars and hotels can be cancelled at the last minute. Air Canada said there’s enough time left to reach a deal that would avoid grounding flights. The earliest the union could issue a 72-hour strike notice would be August 16.
